Eid-ul-Azha is the time of the year when demands of butchers are the highest.
On the other hand, it becomes rather difficult for them to satisfy all the customers because of extreme pressure of work.
Majority of the people try to fix a butcher at least a few days before Eid. In most cases, people prefer to finish the sacrificing ritual right after the Eid prayers. Therefore, demand of the butchers is higher in the morning.
The butchers’ rate varies depending on the price and size of the cattle.
The Tk 2.8 million bull ‘Bahadur’, imported from Texas, would cost around Tk 560,000 to butcher as the usual rate is 20 percent of the cow’s cost.
It takes about one to one and a half hours for a skilled butcher to finish the task of slaughtering an entire cow.
The charge is higher earlier in the day, something between Tk 250 and 300 per Tk 1,000, which goes as low as Tk 150 later in the day and gradually to Tk 100 the next day.
The rate is more or less similar across Dhaka. In areas like, Khilgaon, Malibagh, Rampura and Badda it’s between Tk 100 and 200 while Tk 200 to 300 in Gulshan and Bashundhara area and butchers at Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi and Hazaribag charge Tk 150-250.
Murad, a butcher of Mohammadpur’s Town Hall market told Bangla Tribune, “Most of the butchers are booked 15 days before the Eid.”
“We charge Tk 200 on the day of Eid and Tk 100 after it,” he added.